Lincoln Association For Traditional Arts Since 1982. News To Put A Little LAFTA In Your Life !

Winter 2011-2012 P O Box 30561 Lincoln NE 68503

Lincoln's homegrown masters of bluegrass music are gathering to bid farewell to longtime band member Erin McGovern. Please join us for a night of acoustic music and original songs in celebration of Erin's contributions to the Lincoln music scene. This will be held at the 7th Street Loft, 504 South 7th St., Lincoln at 7:30 p.m, with doors open at 6:45 p.m. Special pricing for this show is $10 for members and non members. Buy your tickets online at www.lafta.net or at the door the evening of the performance. If you like bluegrass, new acoustic music and great original songs, you’ll love the Toasted Ponies. They have been together for almost 20 years and have produced 2 CDs. Their music features wonderful harmony singing and tasteful instrumentation. Steve Hanson plays banjo, mandolin, and guitar. He has won numerous music competitions including the banjo championships at both the Telluride Bluegrass Festival and the Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, Kansas. Steve has been well known in Bluegrass music ever since the release of his critically acclaimed record Pick and Choose. He has toured with C.W. McCall and has appeared in concert with many of the all time greats in Bluegrass music. Erin McGovern plays guitar and mandolin. Erin has played both as a solo artist and in numerous bands including the infamous group, The Hags, and with Mary Chapin-Carpenter. Jim Pipher plays bass and handles most of the emcee chores. Jim has received many accolades and awards as both a singer and songwriter. Jim has toured the U.S.A. and Canada with the popular swing band Sour Mash. He also plays with the jazz trio, The Lightning Bugs, who have made several recordings and a concert film with the legendary jazz violinist, Claude Williams. Terry Keefe plays fiddle and mandolin. Terry has won numerous contests and is in constant demand as a session player. He also plays with the popular Irish group, Paddywhack. Terry plays all the great old breakdowns, as well as Irish, ragtime, and country tunes. Neal and Leandra Saturday, February 11 at the Johnny Carson Theater At 7:30 p.m. in the Johnny Carson Theater on Saturday, February 11, LAFTA once again presents Neal and Leandra. This remarkable singing/songwriting couple has a large following in Lincoln that appreciates smoothly blended voices, sparkling humor, and songs that are layered with textures of everyday life and love. The duo connects with people’s own experiences in a way that keeps audiences coming back for more and bringing friends. For decades, Neal & Leandra have captivated fans coast to coast and beyond. With their impeccably matched voices and elegant harmonies, their engaging stage presence and superlative songwriting, they are very hard to resist. Like “listening to angels,” said the Minneapolis Star Tribune; “clearly master the art of saying more with less,” wrote The Washington Post. Neal & Leandra are recipients of the prestigious McKnight Performing Artist Fellowship (2002), in recognition of excellence in live performance. And Neal was honored with a 2010 McKnight Composers Fellowship for It’s Not As Simple As It Seems . Tours have taken them to Canada’s Winnipeg Folk Festival and to 45 states — from the Kerrville (Texas) Folk Festival to a tiny coffeehouse in San Luis Obispo, California, from New York’s Carnegie Hall and Minnesota’s famed Guthrie Theater to small-town Louisiana for a concert in a former Confederate hospital. But the road always leads them home to Minneapolis, where they live with their young daughter, Madeline. From the start, folk legend Tom Paxton recognized that Neal & Leandra had that certain something that set them apart. “I’ve heard a half-dozen of their songs already that I believe will be classics,” he reported. “Do yourself a favor and listen to them now.” Still great advice. Regular ticket pricing of $13 for members, $17 for nonmembers, $10 for students with ID and $1 for children under 12. Tickets are available online at www.lafta.net or at the door the evening of the performance. More information is available on the web at www.lafta.net or at 580-8656, the LAFTA phone number. Cherish The Ladies Feb 18th COMING CONCERTS We hope all LAFTA members will take advantage of their Saturday, March 24 - Joe Crookston opportunity to purchase two half-price tickets to see Cherish the 7th Street Loft, 7:30 p.m. Ladies at the Lied Center for Performing Arts on Feb. 18 and attend LAFTA is bringing Joe back to Lincoln after his the post-show reception celebrating LAFTA’s 30th anniversary headlining appearance at the 2010 Plainsong Folk season. Festival. His music draws from his urban adventures Thanks to grant support from Woods Charitable Fund and The and his rural Ohio roots, exuding a remarkable, Cooper Foundation, LAFTA is the presenting sponsor of Cherish timeless quality. the Ladies at the Lied. Regular ticket prices are $36, but LAFTA Saturday, April 21 - Garnet Rogers members can buy up to two tickets for only $18 each. This discount 7th Street Loft, 7:30 p.m. An optimist at heart, Garnet will more than pay for your Basic LAFTA membership for the year! sings extraordinary songs about people who are not Discount tickets must be purchased from LAFTA, either on our obvious heroes and the small victories of the every website (www.lafta.net) or at the ticket table at one of the two LAFTA day. If you appreciate profound songs, gorgeous concerts between now and February 18. You may call 402-580-8656 guitars, deep baritones, and all things Canadian, this for more information. show’s for you. After the concert, LAFTA members will be treated to a cake and Saturday, May 19 - Prairie Dog Social punch reception at the Lied and an opportunity to meet the 7th Street Loft, 7:30 p.m. performers. Cherish the Ladies is an engaging Irish music ensemble Presenting new CDs by Prairie Dog artists and a whose name has been suggested by LAFTA members as a group new book, What the Hoops Junkie Saw, by Prairie Dog they would like to see. Because of this year’s grant support and our Czar, Dr. John Walker, the social will again feature partnership with the Lied Center, LAFTA members can attend this Doctor Walker's Hot Flash ("Makes You Feel Like a Lied Center show at a price that is affordable for LAFTA members! Real Woman") gumbo, blackberry cobbler, cornbread, As a group, Cherish the Ladies has been performing almost as and other favorites. Dinner at 6 p.m. while it lasts, long as LAFTA has been in existence. Since its founding 26 years followed by the show at 7:30 p.m. ago, the group has toured in North and , the and , China, and New Zealand, performing Help LAFTA keep you informed in the finest concert halls and international festivals. The group has been named Top North American Celtic act by Members & Non-members... NPR’s “Thistle and Shamrock” and Best Musical Group of the Year Let LAFTA help keep you informed on local music by the BBC. events as well as LAFTA events. LAFTA frequently Cherish the Ladies has shared the stage with such noted e-mails notices about local folk events, including at entertainers as James Taylor, Joan Baez, Emmy Lou Harris, The times music in Omaha, Ashland, Beatrice, and Grand Clancy Brothers, The Chieftains and dozens of symphony Island that may be of interest if you like the LAFTA orchestras. A collaboration with the Boston Pops Symphony led to performances. We do this year round. a 1999 Grammy nomination, and the latest release, “Country If you would like to receive these notices about Crossroads,” sees the Ladies joined by top session musicians in LAFTA and non LAFTA folk music concerts, just e-mail Nashville with guest vocals by legendary singers Vince Gill, Nanci your request to: [email protected] and ask Griffith and Maura O'Connell. to be added to the LAFTA group email list. This list is Cherish the Ladies has appeared on CBS This Morning, Good not shared with anyone else. And if you change your Morning America, PBS, and NPR. Please plan to join us and take mind, it's easy to drop off the list by sending a request advantage of your opportunity as a LAFTA member to see the group to remove you from the e-mail list. in Lincoln at a special discount price. LAFTA members have kept Several times people have replied to the messages our grassroots organization running for 30 years, and we want to with a thanks about keeping them informed of music celebrate with you! Nancy Anderson in the vicinity. Join the group and join the music! Dena Zimmer

CONTRA DANCE 7:30 p.m. first Saturday of each month at Auld Recreation Center. $8 donation for adults, students $5, children FREE. For more information call (402) 464-3143 or (402) 325-9450 or check the LAFTA web site at www.lafta.net.

Number 1 2011-2012 The LAFTA NEWSLETTER is published several times annually by the Lincoln Association for Traditional Arts, P O Box 30561, Lincoln, NE 68503-0561. LAFTA is a non-profit organization A great big LAFTA Thank You goes to committed to the promotion of folk music and folk arts in THE MILL Coffee Shop for their kind coffee the Lincoln area. For membership or other information, please call (402) 580-8656 or check the website at donation for our concerts. Stop by at 800 P St in www.lafta.net Editor: Kerry L “Butch” Krause Lincoln NE for a cup of the finest! Supporting writers listed by column. The Sound of Music, An evening of reimagined! Celtic music & dance

BROOKLYN RUNDFUNK ORKEST R A T A : CHERISH THE LADIES “THE HILLS ARE ALIVE” A CELTIC CELEBRATION February 8 | 7:30 PM February 18 | 7:30 PM

Incomparable The group that made singer/songwriter Roy Rogers famous!

March 9 | 7:30 P

MORE TO LOVE AT THE LIED LIEDCENTER.ORG | 402.472.4747 COMMENTS from board president Charles Wooldridge Lincoln Irish Dancers Coming Events What a wonder-filled season so far! The Winfield Winners were Come celebrate Irish culture, dance, and music such a great way to kick off the year. We are so blessed to have such for the St. Patrick's season with the Lincoln Irish talent in Lincoln! Eliza Gilkyson was our first concert in the Lied Dancers! We will be celebrating our 15th Center’s Johnny Carson Theater in recent years. She was so warm Anniversary with our Lincoln Irish Dancers & and down home the “black box” took on an air of intimacy. My Friends event on Saturday, March 10th, 7 p.m. at personal favorite first-half concert was the Greencards; they really First United Methodist Church, 2723 N. 50th St., had the crowd at the Loft on their feet. We tried something different Lincoln, Ne. this year with a Christmas bluegrass show in December. Monroe Featured Guests include... Rowan - a Celtic Crossing was the perfect fit! music band from Kansas, Mairtin de Cogain - With Neal & Leandra at the Johnny Carson Theater and Cherish multi-talented traditional dancer, singer, and story- the Ladies at the Lied Center Main Stage, February will be a musical teller from County Cork, Ireland, Edwin Mukusha blast. This represents LAFTA’s 30th year, and we are celebrating it - Highland Piper of Lincoln, Pat Barnes - Celtic at the Cherish the Ladies concert with super special ticket pricing for Harpist of Omaha, Brent Shaw - Organist for First LAFTA members and a reception following the concert. Get your United Methodist, and of course - dancing by the tickets from LAFTA for special seating at half off the regular price. Lincoln Irish Dancers! Visit our website, www.lafta.net, or call 402-580-8656 for details. The very next day on Sunday, March 11, plan Joe Crookston will bring his urban folk sound to the Loft in March, on attending our annual Spring Ceili (public and LAFTA favorite Garnet Rogers returns in April. In May, Dr. John dance), where you too can learn some Irish folk Walker will host a Prairie Dog Social with food and great local music dance, and maybe even a jig or two! It will be at to wrap up our season at the Loft. the Auld Rec Center in Antelope Park at 6:00 p.m. I would like to take a moment and thank the current board of Music by Rowan and dances called by Mairtin from directors and all those volunteers who have served during the past County Cork. Don't miss this fantastic weekend 30 years. It is remarkable that LAFTA has been able to provide to of Irish entertainment. Details at Lincoln the highest quality music for this long, solely on the backs of www.lincolnirishdancers.org. Terri Heckman volunteers. Their dedication and commitment make it all possible year after year. I meet lots of people who were involved in LAFTA years ago and remain involved now as members or listeners. Serving 2012 PLAINSONG on the board takes a commitment to music, community, and fun. We have lots of fun! If you are interested in joining us please contact one FOLK FESTIVAL of our board members. Please join me in thanking our current board Check website for updates. members next time you see one of them: Nancy Anderson, Butch

Krause, Bart Holmquist, Randy Smith, Bonnie Smith, Dena Zimmer, www.plainsongfestival.com and Daren Blythe. Thank you!

T hanks for the Support! the for hanks

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